I’ve been thinking a lot about these names lately, apparently it’s common to use the fathers name and end it with “ovna” or “evna” for example I learned [name]Mila[/name] Kunis’ mn is Markovna and her father’s name is [name]Mark[/name] but I don’t know much more than that when it comes to these girls names. Can you give me more examples?
Also what are your favorite Russian, Ukrainian and Eastern European names? Introduce me to something cool please! typing on my phone please excuse autocorrections or mistakes
My only example is of a friend of Eastern European origin whose family name changed rather than her first name. Her given name is [name]Nadia[/name] and her father’s family name ends with -oski whereas hers ends in -oska. I was surprised that it was the family name that changed.
From what I’ve heard, that’s a common practice. Like [name]Anastasia[/name] Nikolaevna–her sisters were [name]Olga[/name] Nikolaevna, [name]Maria[/name] Nikolaevna, and [name]Tatiana[/name] Nikolaevna, and her brother was [name]Alexei[/name] Nikolaevich… most Russian families I know still do this. I do know a Belarusian-Ukrainian family, though, and they didn’t do this for their daughter. She is [name]Milana[/name] [name]Kristina[/name], I actually have no clue where [name]Kristina[/name] comes from–I know the majority of their family, and to my knowledge, no [name]Kristina[/name]. Although I’m not sure how you would do this for [name]Daniel[/name]–Danielovna doesn’t seem quite right, haha.
Erm, some Russian names I love:
[name]Lilia[/name] ([name]Liliya[/name]/Lilija)
[name]Natalia[/name]
[name]Olga[/name] (I know, I know, but I love it!)
[name]Valentina[/name]
[name]Elena[/name]
[name]Sofia[/name]
[name]Irina[/name]/[name]Irene[/name]
[name]Oksana[/name]
[name]Ekaterina[/name]
[name]Nadia[/name] ([name]LOVE[/name] the original Russian form, too, [name]Nadezhda[/name])
[name]Olesya[/name]
[name]Milena[/name]
Although I’m guessing most of those aren’t new. Most of my Russian favorites aren’t that unexpected, haha.
Russian names are very unique. My youngest sister and younger brother were adopted from [name]Russia[/name], and I remember when we were trying to figure out what to name them. Surnames and patronymics are important to Russians, but especially the patronymic. The first given name can usually be any name, we will use Viktoriya. If my father is named, say, [name]Ivan[/name], my patronymic would include his name, in addition to the suffix -ovna, indicating that I am [name]Ivan[/name]'s female child. So, my name would be Viktoriya Ivanovna. For the last name, if my father’s surname is Rusakov, being a female I would be Rusakova. So, my full name would be Viktoriya Ivanovna Rusakova. When introducing themselves, Russians often include their patronymic, as many of them hold quite a lot of pride in it, and some will even call each other by their patronymic. I hope I have my info correct!
Also, take for instance [name]Anna[/name] Pavlova, famous ballerina. Her adoptive father’s surname was Pavlov, and [name]Anna[/name] became [name]Anna[/name] Pavlova because she is female
@ashthedreamer I really love [name]Lilia[/name], [name]Nadezhda[/name] and Nikolaevna! [name]Do[/name] you think [name]Lilia[/name] as a fn for either of these?
It’s not a middle name per se, but a patronymic as another poster said, a way that you form a name when you want to be respectful. In the same way that we say Ms. [Last Name], Russians tend to use the first name + the patronymic. It’s sometimes put in the middle spot, but it doesn’t function in the way our middles do. It’s not a choice or a tradition, just a way that you can refer to anyone, if that distinction is clear at all? I lived in [name]Russia[/name] for about two years, anyway, and this is my understanding of it. So, for example, a woman I knew named [name]Ana[/name] Poltavetsa (full name), would be called [name]Ana[/name] Mikhailovna by her students, since her father’s name was [name]Mikhail[/name]. Students would call me [name]Toma[/name] Alonzovna, even though I was not Russian, and that was not my middle name.
Favourite Russian girl names:
It’s very uncommon for Russians to name their daughters anything unusual, but I met a little girl called Margretka, which is the Russian word for daisy, and kind of pretty.
Hmmm, Ksenya might be one you haven’t heard.
[name]Olya[/name], which is a nn for [name]Olga[/name], but much prettier I think!
The ovna is a possessive, like you are of this person. It’s a first born child thing. Often besides the first born there is no middle name. I think-ich is another suffix you could use this way.
[name]Elena[/name] pronounced Ill yo nuh I love
[name]Raisa[/name]
[name]Vera[/name]
[name]Valentina[/name]
[name]Beatrice[/name] nn [name]Beatta[/name] like bee-etta
[name]Jetta[/name]
[name]Roman[/name] nn [name]Roma[/name]
Elik
Ilucia nn [name]Ilya[/name]
Gricsha
[name]Mischa[/name]
These are some I like but I love Russian nicknames on various non Russian names. My daughter [name]Leonie[/name] gets called Leonka & I am [name]Tara[/name] & I get called Tarishka.
I have another question: [name]Do[/name] Russian, Ukranian, etc people ever have two middle names say a first, middle, patronymic and surname or is this completely unheard of?
I believe it depends what kind of Russian/Ukrainian they are.
Sorry to be unhelpful but there’s a lot of different subcultures under the “[name]Russia[/name]” banner. My family (Belerus/Ukrainian mostly) has middle names but they are/were using a mix of Russian/Yiddish names and Russian/Jewish naming traditions and I wouldn’t be sure they pertain to other Russians particularly. Middle names yes they definitely had. It was mostly first/middle/last from the paperwork I’ve seen. With the patronymics a bit different and the last names sometimes changing depending on context.
Good reply. I also lived in [name]Russia[/name] for a couple of years and Russians treat middle names very differently. In formal situations, both first and middle names can be used.
Putin’s middle name is Vladimirovich (father’s name - [name]Vladimir[/name]) and his first name is [name]Vladimir[/name]. So his full name is [name]Vladimir[/name] Vladimirovich Putin!
Here are a couple of examples for girl’s names.
[name]Tatyana[/name] Alexandrovna Stepanov (Father’s name - [name]Alexander[/name])
[name]Olga[/name] Mikhailovna Sidarov (Father’s name - [name]Mikhail[/name])
There generally isn’t as much variety between Russian names as what there is in the [name]West[/name]. I met so many [name]Sasha[/name]'s (can be used for a boy or girl) Andrey’s, [name]Masha[/name]'s and [name]Sergei[/name]'s when I lived there!
I like the names [name]Olesya[/name] and [name]Petra[/name]
